NAEP Geography Assessment Finds Knowledge Gaps

Washington--Results from the first national assessment of geography
reveal "critical shortcomings" in high-school seniors' knowledge of the
subject, as well as the fact that a substantial number have not studied
it in school.

The test of 3,000 students from 300 schools, conducted by the
National Assessment of Educational Progress and released here last
week, found that, over all, seniors correctly answered 57 percent of
the test items.

While the vast majority could locate major countries, such as the
Soviet Union and Canada, relatively few could identify other places,
such as cities and physical land features.

In addition, the study found, many students had difficulty answering
questions about physical geography, such as weather and climate, and
about cultural geography, such as economic and environmental issues.
Most seniors also appeared unable to interpret information from a
map.

Ina V.S. Mullis, NAEP's deputy director, said the results support
the public's impression, based on previous surveys, that students'
geographical knowledge and skills are "feeble."

"When asked questions based on the 'mental map' of their world," she
said at a press conference, "large numbers of our high-school seniors
drew a blank."

Gilbert M. Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society,
which helped sponsor the study, said the findings reflect the fact that
geography is either not taught at all or taught poorly in many
schools.

Less than two-thirds of the seniors reported that they had taken
geography coursework in high school, and most of that instruction
appears to have occurred in history and science courses.

The study also found, however, that those who had taken geography
coursework performed no better than those who did not.

Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos said parents share the
responsibility for instilling in their children geographic knowledge
and skills. He announced at the press conference that the Education
Department is releasing a booklet outlining what parents can do to help
their children learn the subject, such as have them help plan trips,
read about other cultures, and watch weather forecasts.

"Unless we place a new emphasis on the study of geography," he said,
"we are passing on to our children the stewardship of a world they
literally do not know."

Naep is a Congressionally mandated project that tests a national
sample of students in reading, writing, mathematics, and other
subjects. It is conducted by the Educational Testing Service under
contract to the Education Department.

The 1988 geography assessment, the first undertaken by NAEP, was
also the first to receive support from a private organization. The
National Geographic Society provided $260,000 toward the project,
according to Archie E. Lapointe, NAEP's executive director.

"Business Investment"

Mr. Grosvenor said the funds represented "a prudent business
investment," since the society has spent $40 million creating a
foundation to help improve geographic education.

"We want to find out where the problem is, and analyze where we
might be effective in helping," he said in an interview.

The NAEP report states that students appeared to have difficulty on
questions testing their knowledge of locations, which it calls "an
important indicator of geographic knowledge."

The seniors performed best when asked to locate one place on a world
map. Some 87 percent could locate Canada, 85 percent could identify the
Soviet Union, and 71 percent could pick out Latin America.

But, the study found, they were less likely to be able to locate
cities or physical features such as rivers and oceans, and they "did
not appear familiar with distributions of natural resources,
population, or climate--factors that influence global economic
patterns."

For example, the report notes, nearly a fourth of the students
tested incorrectly stated that a map designed to show population
concentrations represented mineral deposits.

Such relatively poor performance is "puzzling," its says, since
students reported that locational geography is the aspect of the
subject most often taught in schools. Asked how much they studied
particular topics, 83percent of the seniors tested responded that they
had studied the location of continents, countries, oceans, and rivers
"a lot" or "some."

Latitude and Longitude

The assessment also found that students had difficulty using the
skills and tools of geography, such as reading a map, recognizing the
purposes of symbolic representations, and interpreting graphs and
photographs.

"In general, it appears that many high-school students have not
mas4tered such simple concepts as latitude and longitude," the report
states. "Even fewer were able to interpret geographic data represented
in graphs and charts, or to use one or more maps to detect patterns or
compare and contrast information."

On questions about cultural geography, students performed relatively
well on some items highlighted in the news media, such as the factors
that prevent acid rain and the risk to the environment resulting from
pesticide use.

But nearly half could not identify the cause of the "greenhouse
effect," and 59 percent could not assess the environmental impact of
thermonuclear warfare.

"It seems legitimate to ask whether these high-school seniors are
capable of contributing to an effort to preserve our planet," Ms.
Mullis said.

Copies of the report, "The Geography Learning of High-School
Seniors," are available for $10 each from the National Assessment of
Educational Progress, P.O. Box 6710, Princeton, N.J. 08541-6710.

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